The Veteran's diabetes mellitus is rated at 20 percent, as it requires a restricted diet and oral hypoglycemic agents; however, insulin or restriction of activities is not required.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not show that the Veteran's diabetes mellitus requires insulin therapy, regulation of activities due to avoidance of strenuous occupational and recreational activities, or episodes of ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic reactions requiring one or two hospitalizations per year or visits to a diabetic care provider twice a month.
- Claimed conditions
- Diabetes Mellitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- February 18, 2009
- Citation
- 0906006
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and a psychiatric disability due to insufficient evidence of the severity required for higher ratings.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for his diabetes mellitus, a higher rating for PTSD with alcohol use disorder, and a total disability rating due to service-connected disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a heart disability, diabetes mellitus, and peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, but denied service connection for multiple tooth trauma.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain a medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's service-connected PTSD caused or aggravated his cardiovascular diseases, which were listed as contributing causes of death.
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